Duchene has provided a substantial payoff for the Blue Jackets, who look to push the Boston Bruins to the brink of elimination on Thursday when they play Game 4 of their Eastern Conference second-round series in Columbus, Ohio.
"It's a good marriage for us," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said of Duchene, who followed up his goal in double overtime of a 3-2 win on Saturday with his franchise-best fifth postseason tally three nights later in a 2-1 victory in Game 3.
Duchene's goal on Tuesday came on the power play for Columbus, which has scored with the man advantage in six of its seven games and is 8-for-21 in the playoffs.
The Blue Jackets, who hold a 2-1 series lead, have won 13 their last 15 games overall, sweeping Presidents' Trophy-winning Tampa Bay while putting a 107-point Boston team on its heels.
"I'm not surprised. This is definitely what we're capable of," said the 28-year-old Duchene, who also has four assists on the playoffs.
The Bruins believe they are capable of more on the power play, as they followed up their 7-for-16 performance against Toronto in the first round by converting just one of their 10 opportunities in this series.
"I think we've got to execute better, that's the bottom line," Patrice Bergeron said of his team's power-play difficulties. "The plays that we want to make are there in a way, but I think we're forcing a lot of them too. We've just got to go back to taking what's there in front of you."
That mindset may also be beneficial in igniting the team's vaunted top line of Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. That group, which combined for 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) against the Maple Leafs, has totaled just one in this series.
While two-time Vezina Trophy recipient Sergei Bobrovsky deserves some of the "blame" for the top line's power outage, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters that he expects the group to produce.
"Is it sustainable? I don't know," Cassidy said. "I can't predict the future. I'd like to think they're going to have to score. Obviously, some of that starts on the power play. We had one that was not very good -- the second one, we got taken off it, so that's not even really a power play.
"We're going to have to figure something out as a group."
Marchand is expected to have a chance to get the Bruins back on track on Thursday, as multiple outlets reported that the NHL would not provide supplemental discipline after the pesky forward's actions in Game 3.
The 30-year-old Marchand, who has six previous suspensions, delivered a quick jab to the back of the head of unsuspecting Columbus defenseman Scott Harrington toward the latter stages of the third period on Tuesday.
Harrington was not injured on the play.
